Support for curtains or the like.



A. E. MENZL.

SUPPORT FoR CURTAINS 0R THE LIKE.

APPLICATiON FILED MAR. I6 19|?.

. Patented Mar. 19, 19l8.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A TTRIVEYS A. E. MENZL. SUPPORT FOR CURTAINS 0R THE UKE.

APPL'ICATION FILED MAR.16.1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Mmm/Els.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

w/TNESSES f /MZUJUG MLM ALBERT E. MENZL,

PATENT @FFQEG or NEW YORK, 1v. Y.

SUPPORT FOR CURTAINS OR THE LIKE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

Application filed. March 16, 1917. Serial No. 155,247.

To all fav/tom t may concern:

Be it known that l, ALBERT E. MENZL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the city of New York, Long lsland City, borough of Queens, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Support for Curtains or the like,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. Y

rlhis invention relates to supporting devices for household purposes and has particular reference to portable racks for the purpose of supporting window curtains or other fabrics.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a simple, portable and easily manipulated apparatus adapted to be moved from one window to another during the operation of cleansing the windows for the purpose of holding window curtains spaced well inwardly from the window so as not to be soiled or obstruct the cleansing operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a foldable or collapsible portable rack adapted to be suspended at any convenient place along or on an inner wall of a room or window for the purpose of hanging towels, dish cloths or other fabric articles.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view indicating that use of my improvement in which it is employed to support a lace curtain or its equivalent, spaced inwardly from the window.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of parts of my improvement showing particularly the articulated bracket I prefer to use.

Fig. 3 is a detail front elevation of one of the articulated brackets and associated parts as it would appear from the plane indicated by the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4- is a perspective view indicating another adaptation of the invention, namely, that of a clothes drier or the like,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a detail of the invention adjacent to the curtain rod, the rod .being shown in section; and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional detail on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

It will be noted that I show my improvement suspended from an overhead support 10. indicated as a conventional type of curtain rod or pole, but any other suitable supporting means may be employed for some of the uses of the invention. My apparatus comprises two vertical bars 11 each of which is provided at its upper end with a hook 12 constituting a hanger adapted to coperate with the support 10. The bars 11 are shown as of cylindrical form and may conveniently be made of wood and of a length reaching approximately to the bottom of the window. As to the length of these parts, however, and other details of construction l do not wish to be unnecessarily limited.

Secured at any convenient place adjacent to the upper end of each bar 11 is an articulated bracket 13 shown in detail in Figs. 5 and 6. Each of these brackets comprises clamps 14 having a pair of jaws embracing the bar 11. The jaw 15 is rigid with the main shank or body portion of the clamp and the other jaw 16 is shorter and movable with respect to the main portion of the clamp. rThe shank portions of the jaws are provided with registering holes through which a binding screw 17 operates. The

body portion of the clamp is provided with v a lug 18 fitting into a notch 19 of the movable jaw for the purpose of preventing the objectionable pivoting movement of the movable jaw around the aXis of the screw. But for this fact the sliding of the bar through the clamp would be resisted by the binding action of the jaws resulting from such pivotal movement.

Q0 indicates a socket member having a lug 21 embraced by a pair of ears 22 formed on the stationary jaw 15 of the clamp. A pivot pin 23 connects the cup or socket member to the clamp, thus constituting a complete articulated bracket.

Each bar 11 is provided with two of these articulated brackets, one of which is xed adjacent to the top of the bar at any desired elevation while the other, 13, thereof is movably mounted upon the lower portion of the bar. These brackets are preferably both the same in construction hence the detailed parts described above will be understood as being applicable to both.

A pair of brace rods 24C and 25 aresecured respectively to the socket members 20 of the upper and lower articulated brackets. The ends of these rods may be secured in the socket members in any suitable reliable manner. The opposite ends of the rods 24 and 25 are articulated together by another articulated bracket 26. This .type of bracket, however, comprises two socket pieces 27 and 2S adapted to receive and secure the adjacent ends of the rods just described. The socket 27 .is pivoted at 29 to a pair of ears 30 formed on the clamp portion of the bracket io which the socket 28 is connected.. This clamp comprises relatively fixed and movable aws 31 and 32, the action of which is controlled by a binding screw 33. As in the other form of bracket relative pivotal movement of the movable jaw 32 is prevented by a lug 34 projecting 'into a notch 35. 1t will thus be seen that the articulated bracket 26 embodies practically all of the features of the other brackets and several additional ones. The jaws 31 and 32 are designed to embrace and grip a stay rod 36 extending horizontally from one pair of rods 24 and 25 to the other. The axis of the rod 36 is parallel to the pivot 29, while the axis o-f the bar 11, @ripped by the jaws of the other brackets, isv perpendicular to the pivots 23. The brackets 26 are so designed with respect to the lugs or ears 30 as to permit the rods Q4 and 25 to be extended substantially in alinement with each other or when the brackets 13 are loosened so as to glide freely downwardly toward the'lo wer ends of the bars 11 the joints at the pivots Z9 will not resist such movement, but will permit free extension of the bracing rods. I will now describe some of the uses of the mechanism now described in detail. v Each bar 11 having xed adjacent to its upper end a bracket 13 to which is connected a bar 2li, and having the otherbracket 13 slidably fitted on its lower portion and permanently connected through the rodQ' and bracket 26 to the other end of the rod Q4, may easily be manipulatedeither for suspending it from an overhead support such, as a pole, hook or molding, or it may be set aside in the corner of closet when out of use, occupying but a few inches of space. The normal idle position, therefore, of each bar and the parts carried thereby may be regarded as that in which the rods 24 and 25 are suspended in substantial alinement with each other from the upper bracket 13. Assuming that the device is to be used as indicated in 1 the two bars 11 will be hooked upon'the curtain rod 10 on opposite sides of thewindow, then each of the brackets 13 will. be moved up along its bar to any desired elevation and there be clamped through its screw 17 so as toA bring the rods 211 and 25 approximately at a right angle to each other. The ,stay rod 36may then b e slipped into place within the jaws 31 and 32 of each of the articulated brackets 26 and` -there clamped by the screws 33. Becauseof the strong rigid nature of Vthebrackets and the permanent connections between the same and the ends'of the rods 2li-and 25, the application of the stay rod 36 in the manner just described will render the 4 entire apparatus rigid and sufficiently strong for allv practical purposes. Before inserting the stay rod into its place it may first be slipped beneath the curtain C so that when the rod is slipped into place it will carry the curtain well inwardly away from the window as shown. It will be understood, however, that I do not rely @upon any special order of carrying out the steps of the operation of the device.

'^ Referring now to Fig, Ll another adaptation of the apparatus willv be appreciated, The rods 25 may be provided with any suitable number of hooks 37 or other equivalent, the hooks of one rod being' spaced the samefas those ofthe other, whereby I provide means for supporting a series Vof rods 38 .parallel to theY stay rod 36 and upon all'of these horizontal rods may be hung any such articles as towels, clothing or the like. For ythis purpose the apparatus may bepsuspended in front of a window as indicated, or at any otherpart of the wall. The hooks 37 are arranged preferably upon the upper side of the rods 25 or so as to project toward the bars 11 'when the rods are-extended. From the nature'of the connection, however, be-

tween the lower end of'eachrod 24 and the upper end of each rod 25, the hooks 37 are prevented from striking forcibly :against the bar -11 Vas will be appreciated lfrom Fig. 2. In other words when the rod Q4 is dropped it-rnay strike against the bar 11, but since its axis lies between the axis of the rod 25 Yand the bar, the rod 24 and its socket member 27 serves as a means to guard the hooks 37 from the face of the bar 11.

During thev transportation of` this device from onewi'ndow to another, during the operation of window washing, the brackets 13 may be'droppedveither with: or without first removing the stay rod-36. 'If the stay rod be left in place the operator exercising reasonable care may transfer the apparatus ets. Furthermore the hooks 12, being screwed or otherwise fastened in the upper ends of the bars, may be turned around the axes of their shanks to accommodate the hooks to various supports.

I claim:

l. The herein described supporting device comprising a pair of vertical bars, means to suspend said bars freely from their upper ends, a pair of articulated brackets for each bar, one of said brackets being, rela-tively fixed adjacent to the upper end of the bar while the other is adapted to be moved with relative freedom along the lower portion of the bar, means to clamp the latter bracket in fixed position when desired, a pair of brace rods secured to the brackets of each bar and movable atan angle to each other when the movable bracket is lifted, means connecting the adjacent ends of each pair of brace rods, and a horizontal stay rod connecting the last mentioned connecting means.

2. In a supporting device for curtains or the like, the combination of a pair of bars, means to freely suspend said bars from their upper ends providing for free portability thereof, a pair of articulated brackets having clamp connections with each bar, each of said brackets including a socket member pivoted to swing around the axis perpendicular to the axis of the bar, a pair of brace rods fixed in the respective socket members of each pair of brackets, a jointed bracket connecting the other and adjacent ends of the brace rods through a pivot parallel to the aforesaid socket pivots, and a horizontal stay rod coperating with the jointed brackets, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a pair of portable bars, means to support said bars in upright position, a pair of clamps fixed adjacent to the upper ends of the bars, a pair of socket members pivoted to said clamps for move- 'ment in parallel planes around a common axis, a pair of brace rods having their upper ends fixed in said socket members, a pair of articulated brackets secured to the lower ends of said rods, said brackets including a pair of clamps having a common axis, a second pair of brace rods having their upper ends fixed to said brackets and movable either into substantial alinement with or at an angle to said upper brace rods, adjustable connections between the lower ends of the last mentioned brace rods and said bars, and a rigid member extending from one of said brackets to the other and serving to hold the brace rods of one bar substantially parallel to those of the other.

ALBERT E. MENZL.

copies o this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

